Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant

Sections 2222–2225 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 authorizes the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) Grant. This competitive grant advances literacy skills through the use of evidence-based practices, activities and interventions, including pre-literacy skills, reading, and writing. The grant will serve children from birth through grade twelve, with an emphasis on disadvantaged children, including children living in poverty, English learners, and children with disabilities. The grant also has two priorities: (1) projects that include evidence-based family literacy strategies and (2) projects that increase educational options for groups of students who have traditionally been underserved.

Background Information

The California Department of Education (CDE) was awarded $37.5 million in CLSD grant funds to leverage and expand existing statewide infrastructure, guidance, and expertise to bring coherence to the system of literacy supports to improve student outcomes over a period of five years. Project objectives include:

• Align local and state literacy initiatives through a coordinated effort to build state and local capacity over the life of the project.
• Develop and implement an evidence-based comprehensive State Literacy Plan (SLP) that aligns and integrates state literacy initiatives, content standards, and state guidance documents to support teachers of students, birth through grade twelve.
• Build local capacity to establish, align, and implement local literacy initiatives that emphasize family and community involvement to address the needs of California’s most vulnerable children.

For additional information on the CLSD grant proposal, please see Item 10 of the State Board of Education (SBE) July 2019 Agenda (DOCX).

Literacy Lead Agency Eligibility and Funding

The CDE will distribute seven grant awards to county offices of education to support the project objectives outlined above. The CDE announced a Request for Applications (RFA) on May 5, 2021, to fund the CLSD competitive grant awards. Links to the RFA and Funding Profile are below.

CLSD Grant: Literacy Lead Agency RFA Web Page

Funding Profile and Results

The CDE identified seven county offices of education to serve as local Literacy Lead Agencies to support the project objectives outlined above. The grantees began work on September 1, 2021. Additional information about the work of each local Literacy Lead Agency and their partners is available on the CLSD Literacy Lead Agency Web Page.

State Literacy Plan

A primary objective of the CLSD grant program is to develop and implement a comprehensive SLP that aligns and integrates state literacy initiatives, content standards, and state guidance documents to support teachers of students, birth through grade twelve. After months of development and revisions based on stakeholder feedback, the State Board of Education adopted the final California Comprehensive State Literacy Plan (PDF) on March 17, 2021. The CDE and its partners will work to implement the plan over the life of the CLSD grant. For more information about the development of the SLP, please visit the State Literacy Plan Development web page.

Online Literacy Resources Repository

The CDE is developing resources to support the implementation of the SLP and build local capacity to establish, align, and implement local literacy initiatives that emphasize family and community involvement to address the needs of California’s most vulnerable children. Resources will continue to be developed and posted online over the life of the CLSD grant. The Online Literacy Resources Repository is housed on the CDE’s new platform, California Educators Together . By signing up for a free account, educators in the field will be able to access these resources for professional learning and to develop local literacy plans. All resources, tools, and templates within the repository have been reviewed and vetted by members of the SLP Team.

State Board of Education Agenda Items and Memoranda

All SBE agenda items and memoranda related to the CLSD grant are available on the CLSD SBE Agenda Items and Memos web page.

Program Authorization

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (see Sections 2222–2225 on pages 172 through 180 of the legislation) (PDF)

Additional Information

CDE November 4, 2019 News Release

Stay informed on the CLSD grant and other statewide literacy initiatives in California! Join the CDE’s Literacy listserv by sending a blank email to: join-cde-literacy@mlist.cde.ca.gov.